Manna Energy Limited
Manna Energy Limited: A social enterprise founded to provide clean water, clean energy, and sanitation to the poor made possible through the unique combination of sustainable development with the twelve billion a year carbon credit market
In areas of the world where sanitation and water infrastructure is limited, the result is that drinking water sources become contaminated. Local residents fall victim to diarrheal diseases, intestinal parasites, and other water-related illnesses that are among the leading causes of death among the poor and inhibit their ability to thrive physically and economically.
THE PROBLEM
The most common way for poor households to treat water is through boiling. In most cases, water is heated indoors by burning fuel wood. The resultant indoor air pollution can cause respiratory disorders, debilitating illnesses, and further weaken the immune systems of at-risk individuals, including those infected with HIV/AIDS and other diseases. In many tropical and subtropical developing countries, fuel wood collection can also be strongly associated with deforestation, which is responsible for some 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. Wood fuel is often the single most expensive commodity for a rural family.
THE INNOVATION
Manna Energy Limited has launched the Rwanda Natural Energy Project to design, install, and operate solar-powered water purification systems, biogas generators, and high efficiency cookstoves in Rwanda. The Manna-designed water systems utilize sand filters and ultraviolet light to purify contaminated water. The biogas reactors are latrines that convert human, animal, and agricultural waste into methane, which is fed to high-efficiency cookstoves. The plan is to fund the installation and long-term operating costs of these projects through the sale of United Nations Certified Emission Reductions (CERs or carbon credits), earned because the water filters and cookstoves reduce the need to burn fuel wood for water disinfection and energy needs. Once the emission reductions are certified, the carbon credits will be issued by the United Nations for a period of ten years from the date of installation. With this model, Manna Energy Ltd. is poised to be the first organization to earn carbon credits through the purification of water.
“By providing safe drinking water, biogas generators, and methane-powered stoves, we’re simultaneously improving water quality and sanitation, reducing water-related illness, providing agricultural fertilizer, decreasing deforestation, and curbing respiratory disorders caused by indoor air pollution. In essence, we’re able to solve multiple health, environmental, and economic problems with one innovative project using our in-house designed systems. But it all starts with safe water.” —Ron Garan, Director, Manna Energy Ltd.
THE VISION
Manna Energy Ltd. has a goal of eradicating poverty and fostering health, education, and gender equality through the implementation of economically sustainable and environmentally sound technologies for clean water, sanitation, and energy.
“It is important that sustainable development initiatives are sustainable businesses. Indeed, for Manna, our future growth and generation of revenue provide the ability to proliferate our systems and provide clean water to more communities, which enables them and our company to thrive. It’s important to note that we don’t earn revenue from the installation of these systems but through their successful operation. This framework provides a large incentive to maintain systems in top working order over the long run. Our objectives are to scale this model so our organization can serve as many people as possible and also help other organizations do the same.” —Ron Garan, Director, Manna Energy Ltd.